It's Wednesday and that means I have another project for our Christmas in July Blog Hop. I am hosting this blog hop with a group of talented bloggers and we are bringing all sorts of Christmas creativity your way - so you won't have to rush at the last minute in December. We hope that you have been following along and adding your Christmas projects as well. You may recall that I repurposed a broken mirror. This week I will be repurposing an old toy that belonged to my daughters. Actually this would be the perfect summer project to do with your kids in preparation for the holidays. I bring you the Repurposed Barbie Paddles.

We've had these Barbie paddles for years just taking up space. But I wouldn't throw them out, I was determined to repurpose those things. . When I heard about the Christmas in July event I knew their time had come.
Είχαμε αυτές τις ρακέτες Barbie για χρόνια, μόνο έπιαναν χώρο. Αλλά δεν τα πέταγα, ήμουν αποφασισμένη να τα διαμορφώσω. Όταν άκουσα για τη Χριστουγεννιάτικη εκδήλωση Ιουλίου, ήξερα ότι είχε φτάσει η στιγμή.

Using a piece of wire and a heat source I opened holes on the bottom of the handles. Because we stay away from power tools!
Χρησιμοποιώντας ένα κομμάτι σύρμα και μία πηγή θερμότητας άνοιξα τρύπες στο κάτω μέρος των λαβών. Επειδή μένουμε μακριά από ηλεκτρικά εργαλεία!

Now for some unfathomable reason (I live with a camera glued to my hand) I don't have photos to show you what I did next. In a nutshell, I painted one side Enchanted Americana Decor Chalky finish paint. The other side in blackboard paint. The handles were painted blackboard paint mixed in with white, making it a soft grey. I'm sure Barbie didn't mind.

And because we are celebrating Christmas in July, I dug up some old childrens' books that have seen better days.
Και γιατί γιορτάζουμε τα Χριστούγεννα τον Ιούλιο, ξέθαψα παιδικά βιβλία που έχουν δει καλύτερες μέρες.

On the green sides I mod podged two pretty pictures from the book depicting Christmas scenes. One is of an angel and the other is Santa Clause.

On the other side, after the chalk had been wiped off, we just went ahead and made a sketch. Like I said this is a fun project to do with the kiddos. Mine were not feeling it on that day so these were our feeble attempts, but you get the idea. We can't be creative every single day of the year. "wink"

Of course, you know I cannot do a post in July without something beachy thrown in. If you get bored you can always add another sketch and no one is the wiser as to what is behind the sailboat and the fish.

If you have little kids you will be able to occupy them with this fun project. I on the other hand have moody teens at home... but I remember when they were cute and adorable and had stars in their eyes every time I said the word "crafts" So get your kids or grandkids to help you with this one, it is easy and so much fun. and you can use it all year long.

Those rackets are useful again and I have banished the Barbie! And that is my second contribution to the Christmas in July blog hop. You can also check out our monthly Handmade for Christmas series, where we make a gift each month so that by December we will have 12 Christmas gifts and not need to scramble around.

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Mmmm Mary, now you got me inspired, I really like the paddle chalkboard idea! You can use it all year round as well, how fun! And Barbie, oh Barbie, her days are over, lol! Well, in my house there are still some left....but not too many.. You came up with a fun and easy decoration for the holidays or any day that is!

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Mary

7/22/2016 01:28:07 pm

I really like to do holiday things that can be used all year round if possible. As for Barbie, enjoy her while you can. I may even have a few hidden somewhere.

Mary, I love how you repurposed these Barbie paddles!! Giving one side a Christmas look and the other side a chalkboard was so smart!! Another fantastic repurpose to get you more ready for when Christmas arrives!

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Mary

7/22/2016 02:19:39 pm

And to use them any time of the year, because I will not be happy till I can use everything more than once a year. "wink"

Hi Mary, I love it! My favorite side is the chalk board side as you could change the picture each day. And I know exactly where you are coming from about moody teenagers, I'm not sure mine would even humour me now if I asked them to draw something Chrismasy.

xx

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Mary

7/22/2016 03:01:23 pm

Oh Debbie, those teens. If I say a word to them I get a dirty look. They will grow out of it. Some of my best friends are my older kids who are no longer teens ... we have something to look forward to.

Hi Mary, My sister used to have those paddles lol it brought back a few memories. I think you did a gret job repurposing them. Love it! Thank you for sharing with us at #SimplifyWednesdays! Stumbled, pinned, tweeted, shared

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Mary

7/22/2016 03:41:14 pm

That is so funny. Someone else actually had these things. I don't think I've ever seen the kids play with them, they just took up space. At least now they'll be used.

I was like hmmm Barbie paddles? well knock me over these paddles are awesome! I love the way you decorated them and then so many options! you could have them hung up really year round, changing out the chalkboard images. Neat lady!

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Mary

7/22/2016 03:43:27 pm

I threw a curve ball at ya! That's exactly what I intend to do. I have my fish all set for summer!

Mary, I've never heard of Barbie paddles before. What were they used for? Also wondering about not using power tools? I'd be lost if I couldn't use a few. Anyways, you did a fantastic job, as always,in transforming your paddles. Very clever!

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Mary

7/22/2016 03:45:27 pm

Carol they were used for playing ping pong ball. I guess we can call them rackets too. The power tools reference was a joke, to show how easy the project was. A And I am so relieved to finally be done with them. No one played ping pong or racket ball anyway.

So many great Christmas projects and goodies with Christmas in July! The paddle makeovers are so fun…love the versatility with them--to change them up with different scenes and use all year long! Awesome idea!!!

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Mary

7/22/2016 04:36:09 pm

I think so too Michelle, Christmas decor can be so limiting; this opens things up a bit more.

This is such a smart and easy to follow DIY! I never would have thought of it! How did you think up something so unique and cool from Barbie paddles, Mary?! You're so innovative! This would be a great way to spice up my Christmas decorations. Now, I just need to keep my eye out for some of those paddles at the yardsales...

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Mary

7/31/2016 02:09:40 am

I'm sure you can find these things Gina. So many kids have had them and then discarded them... lol like mine did.

Mary, this is so cool! Barbie is forever banished! LOL You could also hang these on the mantle with the stockings and write the kids names on the chalkboard side so that they know, and Santa knows, which stocking belongs to each child. Or they could hang in the center hole of a Christmas Wreath and you could write a Christmas welcome on them. So many cool things! Great idea!

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Mary

8/3/2016 05:35:27 pm

This was a no brainer for me. As soon as I saw them I said they are for hanging. I really like your idea about hanging them in the center of a Christmas wreath. Now you've got me thinking. Thanks Nikki.

That is a great repurposing of the Barbie paddles! I guess kids don't love Barbie forever… But maybe they will love Christmas forever! (If you aren't forcing them to chalk out Christmas scenes, that is!). :)

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Mary

8/12/2016 04:46:52 pm

Haha. Mandy, I'm sure they'll grow out of it. One of them is in her moody emo phase right now. I'm sure she'll snap out of it by the time Christmas rolls around.

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Welcome

I'm Mary and I live in beautiful Greece where I like to repurpose and upcycle anything that is old or looks like junk. Join me as we use our creativity to spark some life into old things. And do it frugally! You will also see lots of photography of my Greece.